Someone knew he’d gone out for a second time in the early hours.

Who could it have been? One of the travellers? A holidaymaker? Who?

Will was sorely tempted to go into Mr Bradshaw’s kitchen and check if there was any beer in the fridge, but he resisted the temptation and went back up to his room. He locked the door, turned on the TV for company and lay down on the bed, on his side, like a child. He’d done everything he could to bring back the hours he couldn’t remember from the night Alice disappeared – he’d even undergone hypnotherapy. But he’d drunk so much that evening that he’d blacked out, and alcohol blackouts, he’d been told, inhibit the formation of memories. He couldn’t remember because there were no memories. Those hours were gone from Will’s mind for ever. Nothing would ever bring them back.

He remembered the ‘before’ clearly enough. He remembered it with crystal clarity: the aftermath of his lovemaking with Alice, the bed, the rumpled sheets, his fingers playing with Alice’s hair, Marnie’s small voice at the door.

‘A special date,’ Alice had said to Marnie. Or maybe: ‘A very special date,’ or ‘I’m seeing somebody special,’ whatever… she needed the scarlet dress because she wanted to look her best for whoever it was who was coming. And ‘Shh!’ she’d whispered to Marnie. ‘It’s a secret!’ Meaning she didn’t want Will to know about it because it wasn’t as if anyone else was likely to overhear! Lying in the bed behind the flimsy partition wall, a few yards away, Will’s blood had run cold.

Only a few minutes earlier he and Alice had been lazily planning how they would go travelling. Will hadn’t been quite sure if Alice was being serious but he’d gone along with everything she suggested, deliberately avoiding mentioning obstacles such as his university place. ‘You’ll need a passport,’ Alice had told Will and he’d promised he’d go to the post office in Severn Sands in the morning to pick up an application form. They’d been talking about Thailand and India; about sunsets and elephants; about street food and exotic flowers and sleeping on beaches; full moon parties, hiring mopeds and disappearing down dirt tracks. Will didn’t know how they were going to afford the plane tickets, but Alice had told him not to worry.

‘Fate will see us right!’ she’d said.

Then Marnie had come with the laundry and everything had changed.

Afterwards, after Marnie had left, Alice came back into the bedroom. She was holding a glass of water, which she offered to Will, who shook his head.

‘Marnie is such a little sweetheart,’ she said.